Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Having chosen to try and put out a puzzle each week—and just a mild 6×6, mind you!—I want to take a moment nearly four months in to voice my awe of those who really do this on a regular basis, producing full-length weekly puzzles (like the duo over at Out of Left Field, the Everyman, or Jack Keynes) or bi-weekly variety puzzles (like Steve Mossberg). I honestly don’t know how they have the time, but it’s downright impressive and inspirational. This is especially so given that they’re not really slouches in their cluing: every now and again I’ll spot an entry that seems familiar or which feels a little more pedestrian than I’d like, but it’s not like they’re just settling for any old clue. With just seven clues to do a week, I can already feel the temptation as (self-imposed) deadlines approach to just settle for a surface and submit; I can only imagine what that’s like when writing significantly more. That said, writing cryptic clues is as much a muscle as anything else, and I will admit that the more I’ve done it (along with the occasional test solving), the easier it is for me to find phrases or indicators that excite me and, perhaps more importantly, to dismiss cluing angles that just aren’t going to work well. And so, the experiment continues! Hope you enjoy this grid, which you can download as a PDF below or find over at Crosshare as a .puz and online experience. No test-solvers this week, by the way, so apologies in advance if it’s rougher than intended.
The Crossword Scholar 